How to pop your shoulder? There are moments when you will experience your shoulder starting to pop by itself. This may happen every day, especially when you do various things. You may exercise and hear your shoulders pop, or you may be doing some household chores and hear your shoulders pop. This is normal, and you should not feel anxious unless you begin to experience pain in the shoulder pop.
Popping and cracking can also happen to parts of the body, like elbows, knees, shoulders, wrists, or finger joints. Popping your shoulder is a quick and easy way to relieve pain and stiffness. They can also help ease pain from repetitive activities like typing or carrying a heavy purse or backpack.
Even if your pain is due to a serious injury or condition, these exercises can help you manage your symptoms and get the most out of your treatment. It’s important to seek medical advice if you experience significant pain, discomfort, or instability in your shoulder.
Is it Hard to Pop Your Shoulder?
The answer to this question is yes. It may be a bit complicated to pop your shoulder, especially since it may cause some complications. While it may seem easy for some people, it can be dangerous to try popping your shoulders when you do not know how. You need to know how to do it in detail to lessen the chances of making a mistake.
Understanding Shoulder Joint
You must understand how your shoulder works so that it will be easier for you to figure out how your shoulder can be popped. A shoulder combines the neck and other parts of the body. It consists of the following parts:
Instead of the usual structure of bones connected, the shoulder has a ball and socket joint. This explains why it may sometimes go out of place.
The shoulder does more than connect some of your body parts; it is also in charge of allowing your arms to move. Based on what you have learned, you can already fathom that the shoulder is one complicated body part. If you would need to pop it, how will you do it with ease?
Symptoms of a Dislocated Shoulder
- The shoulder will look deformed.
- The shoulder will not be in its proper place.
- You will feel that your shoulder is a bit numb.
- There may be a slight change in your arm’s overall appearance, but this may only happen when some of your nerves and blood vessels get affected.
- A fracture is usually located in the upper arm or the shoulder area.
- The shoulder feels like it needs to pop but won’t.
If you are experiencing more than one of the symptoms mentioned above, you can say that you are suffering from a dislocated shoulder.
Why Does Your Shoulder pop By Itself?
Note that your current age will determine why your shoulder pops by itself.
1. 35 and Below
This is a sign that your joints are unstable. If you are double-jointed, this is normal, and you will hear clicking sounds now and then. You may experience some pain if you have injured your shoulder muscles recently. You can fix this by undergoing a type of therapy.
2. 35 to 60
The type of sound you will hear may be similar to when you grate some of your vegetables. The pain may worsen depending on the movements you are making. For example, when you try to reach behind your head, you experience severe pain.
You need to be diagnosed by your doctor to be sure about your condition. You are more prone to impingement syndrome because of your age. Depending n the severity of the syndrome, you may be required to undergo therapy and take some steroids to get rid of the inflammation of the joints.
3. 60 and Above
Some things, like bones, cannot be preserved as people age. You may start to feel that your bones are brittle and may be painful all the time. You will be asked to undergo an x-ray to determine the cause of your pain. Most people above 60 contribute the pain that they are feeling to arthritis.
How to Pop Your Shoulder Like a Chiropractor?
If there is one thing that you wish you would learn how to do, it is to crack your shoulder socket with ease. When you break your shoulder, you need to make some effort and movements that may be painful when your shoulder is dislocated. When you are careless in doing this, you may worsen your condition.
This is the process that you have to follow to pop your shoulder out of place:
1. Know if your shoulder is indeed dislocated.
Some people may assume they have problems with their shoulders to realize that they are just feeling pain in their shoulder area because of lifting heavy weights or doing some serious training. There are some symptoms you need to look for:
- Your shoulder looks deformed.
- The pain in your shoulder blade cannot be denied.
- Your forearm is also in pain.
If the pain is too much for your bear, it may be too late to pop your shoulder back to its original position. You may need the help of a professional doctor instead.
2. If the pain is still bearable, you need to lie down and let your body in a comfortable position.
It is common for you to panic upon realizing that your shoulder is dislocated, but panicking will not do anything. Lie down and allow your shoulder joint to feel more relaxed. This is essential before you try to pop your shoulder back.
3. Slowly but surely, stretch your arm to one side.
Try to lift your arm over your head. If it is painful, slow down the rate and try to move your arm.
4. Try to place your hand behind your head.
Once again, make sure that your movements are slow and steady. If you make sudden and careless movements, you may worsen the condition of your shoulders.
5. Once you successfully place one hand behind your bed, you will feel a pop from your shoulder.
If the pain suddenly disappears, you know that you could pop your shoulder back into position. Try to move the shoulder and the arm again. If you do not feel any pain, you are successful.
One thing to remember: It is never easy to pop a dislocated shoulder. It may take a few tries before you can do it. If you feel you would never be able to do it, do not force yourself. It is best if you seek medical attention immediately so that you can start to feel relief.
Things to Do to Ease Pain From Dislocated Shoulder
Having a dislocated shoulder can be painful, and you still need to get medical attention to check if it has been popped correctly, but while you are waiting, there are some things that you can do to ease the pain:
Put ice on the affected area.
Inflammation is one thing that you have to fight when you dislocate your shoulder, and you can do this effectively by placing ice on the affected area. Ice can make the affected blood vessels constrict. You will also alleviate the pain you must endure when you lessen the inflammation.
- Prepare crushed ice.
- Place inside a clean cloth.
- Apply to the affected area for about 20 minutes.
- You may do this every hour so that the pain will be lessened.
- Remember not to place it on the skin for over 20 minutes, as this may cause some skin issues later.
Do not move your arm.
It would help to immobilize your shoulder and arm as much as possible. If you try to move it, you will only worsen the injury. You may end up fracturing your arm and having to undergo stitches. The best thing to do is to immobilize your arm. Accept it if you can get help from the people you are with.
- You may need to use a piece of clothing to immobilize your arm, especially if you do not have a ready-made sling.
- The sling should be under your forearm to support the injured area. You have to tie the edges of the clothing around your neck. Once again, this is only applicable if you do not have a regular sling. If you have the traditional sling, you need a bit of help in situating your arm.
- By doing this, you can significantly reduce the level of pain that you may endure. At the same time, you are avoiding the possibility of getting further injuries.
Drinking Medications for Pain
There is a big possibility that you will be in pain while your shoulder is dislocated. Some anti-inflammatory medications you can take will allow you to get rid of the pain brought about by the dislocation. Remember that you are not supposed to take medicines unless your doctor advises.
Some medications are supposed to thin the blood. When this happens, the clotting ability of your skin and the rest of your body will be reduced. Contact your physician about your symptoms first before taking medications.
Read: How to Heal a Pinched Nerve in The Shoulder or Back?
How to Pop Your Shoulder By Yourself
It should be remembered that you should try to avoid doing this as much as possible as it is dangerous, and you may end up making your situation worse. There are times; however, when you encounter an emergency and you need to have your shoulder relocated at the soonest possible time; this is the process that you have to follow:
- Let gravity pull the dislocated shoulder downwards first. This will allow you not to extend other parts of your body that may aggravate your condition.
- Rotate your shoulder backward. Remember to focus on your shoulder and not your arms.
- Your torso should be outwards.
- Your arms will likely be stiff, but you can make them more rigid and slowly pull them up.
- You will know if you are doing it correctly if you feel tension near the shoulder and the upper arm.
- Slowly move your shoulder and arm until you hear a pop, and your shoulder will be back on.
Admittedly, the instructions above seem easy enough, but it cannot be easy to do it yourself. It can also be problematic if this is the first time you have happened to you, and you do not know if you are doing it correctly. Generally, if you can do it successfully, you will regain some movement from your dislocated shoulder.
There are some general rules that you have to remember before you decide to pop your shoulder back by yourself or with the help of a family member:
- Only do this when 12 hours have gone by without any medical professional to help you.
- It is okay to do this when you are in an isolated place and you know that medical help will not come for hours.
There are some complications that you can expect to feel if in case you pop your shoulder back and you do it in the wrong manner, such as the following:
- Tearing your muscles further
- Tearing your ligaments and tendons
- Damaging your blood vessels and nerves in the process
- Making your shoulder bleed, especially if you have an open fracture
- Experiencing severe pain, especially when you try to move your arm in a fast manner
- You may lose consciousness when the pain that you are experiencing is too great.
- It might take 10 to 15 minutes to crack it back into the correct position.
Read: How to Treat a Pulled Muscle in Shoulder at Home
How to Pop Your Shoulder with Help
If you would like someone else to help you relocate your shoulder, do not take it against other people if they would not too happy or eager to help you. They likely want to help eliminate the pain and discomfort, but they fear they may hurt you more because they do not know.
If in case you do find someone willing to help you, here is the process that you have to follow:
- Lay down flat on your back on a flat surface.
- Place the injured arm away from you and ensure it is at a 90-degree angle.
- The person who will help you should hold on to your arm or hand and slowly pull on it. The pull should be slow and steady. If the pull is sudden, then this may end up hurting your arm even more.
- You would know if popping the shoulder back is successful if you hear a particular sound, and the shoulder will feel like it has gotten back into position, although it may be a bit sore.
- When the shoulder returns to its normal position, you will begin to feel that the pain will lessen immensely.
Remember that the shoulder will still be a bit unstable, and you still need to have your shoulder checked by a medical professional, so you need to keep your arm in a sling in the meantime.
A possibility of Undergoing surgery
If the damage done to your shoulder and arm is more severe than what you initially thought, the doctor will prescribe that you undergo surgery. The doctor may also recommend surgery if your shoulder keeps on dislocating. There may be some ligaments and joints that may become more dislocated in the long run.
Surgery may be the best option if you keep on dislocating your joints because there is a need for your joints to be stabilized. The things you will do as you get older will become harder for your joints, bones, and muscles to sustain. You need to be prepared for these things.
The type of surgery that your doctor will do will be based on some factors:
- The extent of the damage done to the affected area
- Current lifestyle
- Level of activity
- Age
If you are younger than 30, undergoing surgery may be your best option because your chances of recovery are also higher.
Undergoing Rehabilitation
Whether you have undergone the treatment prescribed by your doctor to relocate your shoulder or you have undergone surgery, remember that you need to strengthen your joints. You can do this by undergoing treatments and rehabilitation.
You may choose from the following:
- Chiropractors
- Physical Therapists
- Athletic Therapists
Recovering from the dislocation of your shoulder will vary depending on the treatment you have to do to put the shoulder back in. If you did not require surgery, you might need about two weeks to still place your arm in a sling and make sure that you do not move it around that much.
If you have undergone surgery, your recovery time is much longer. Follow your doctor’s directions regarding the other things you can do to lessen your recovery period and let your shoulder and arm heal nicely.
It can be more challenging for you if you are an athlete because if you need surgery because of your shoulder dislocation, you would need about half a year before you can start playing again. This might take a toll on your gameplay.
Suppose you would take good care of your body and make sure you do stretches and proper exercises before making some physical effort. In that case, you can lessen the possibility of suffering from a shoulder dislocation.
